32 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024 J
N
I
t seemed like Brooke Soper was des-
tined to be a Spartan.
She attended Okemos Public Schools,
a school district that’s next door to the
Michigan State University campus in East
Lansing, and graduated from Okemos
High School in 2020.
Her mother and father graduated from
MSU. Her sister graduated from MSU.
Three of her four grandparents graduated
from MSU, including John Fleser, who
played baseball for the Spartans and was a
1959 First Team All-Big Ten selection.
Her family home in Okemos is five min-
utes from the MSU campus. MSU’s animal
farms can be seen from Bennett Woods
Elementary School, which she attended.
But when it came time for Soper to make
her college choice, she decided to go to
Western Michigan University to continue
her academic and athletic careers.
“It just felt like it was the right thing for
me to do,
” she said.
Four years later, during her senior year at
WMU, it appears her decision to become a
Bronco was a wise one.
A distance runner who participated in
the high school cross country state meet all
four years she was at Okemos, Soper com-
petes for the WMU women’s cross country
and track and field teams.
After literally a slow start to her college
running career, she’s steadily improved
her times since distance running specialist
Kevin Cataldo was hired as an assistant
coach for WMU’s women’s cross country
and track and field teams in March 2022
before being named coach in May 2023.
A strong runner despite being 5-foot-3
and 105 pounds, Soper has bumped up her
weekly mileage to between 55 and 60 miles.
Earlier in February, Soper led her team
in the 3K run at the Big Meet at Grand
Valley State University, finishing in
10:08.29.
Soper is definitely going the distance
in the classroom at WMU with a 3.79
grade-point average. She’s been named to
the Academic All-MAC (Mid-American
Conference) Team six times in women’s
cross country, and women’s indoor and
outdoor track.
“
Academics is very important in our
program. Our women’s cross country team
had a combined 3.67 GPA last fall,
” Cataldo
said. “We put the student before athlete in
student-athlete.
“Very few go pro in our sport. But they
will go pro in their profession. Brooke has
been able to balance running and academ-
ics. Her grades and academic awards prove
that.
”
Soper said she decided to continue run-
ning in college, knowing the time that must
be devoted to it, because she knew it would
help her academically.
“I like to keep busy. I don’t do well with
free time,
” she said.
Her involvement at Hillel at WMU also
keeps her busy.
Soper’s major is digital media and jour-
nalism.
The 22-year-old said she’s not sure about
her specific career path yet, even after she
enjoyed a marketing and communications
internship last summer with the United
Dairy Industry of Michigan.
She does know she needs to attend
WMU during the 2024 fall semester to
complete her graduation requirements and
has one season of cross country eligibility
remaining, and she’s leaning toward focus-
ing just on academics.
Her parents are Neil and Susan Soper.
Her sister Alex, 24, is a program assistant
for alumni relations and development at
the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at
Northwestern University.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
Brooke Soper is a distance runner and an
academic achiever at Western Michigan.
Spartan Roots, but a Bronco Star
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS
LEFT: Brooke Soper competes in the 5K at the 2023 Mid-American Conference indoor track championships.
RIGHT: Brooke Soper competes in the 10K at the 2023 Mid-American Conference outdoor track championships.
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